This is a story about a family who came from Graves End in England in the 1630s and settled in the area of Jamestown, Virginia some of the early settlers in the area. Eventually they migrated south ending up in North Carolina and fought in the revolutionary war military. They moved on in 1818 into Illinois settling in Union county in the area of Anna-Jonesboro in the Southern part of the state and became farmers and merchants. The current members of the family pick up in the 1930s where they moved to St Louis, Missouri and Thomas and Martha Davis were born late 30s and mid 40s. World War II is over and the world changes greatly and the migration starts again.

Subsequent chapters trace the continued migrations of the primary characters Thomas and Barbara Davis through their early years, their families , their education, marriage, movements gypsy-like into and through Europe, Africa back to the US and into Alaska, the midwest for the remainder of working years and finally to Florida following the migrants into a warmer climate of their  choosing.and hopefully God-pleasing. At this point one follows the antics and accomplishments of off-spring and their off-spring.

As some have commented it was never boring always interesting. Living into the 80s (age) attempting to keep moving and remain ever curious is becoming a challenge. The world has changed so much that to follow the same trajectory for another member of the tribe would be “nigh impossible.”

This is not a greatly detailed anthology of the Davis family from the beginning but an attempt to chronicle a portion of the time used by some of the folks and to bring them to life and some were known personally by the author. Also one has a great reach as grandparents were born long ago and if you listened to them they provided useful clues as to what life was like during their time on this earth. My grandfather Davis knew people as a child who were present when the Cherokee passed through on the “Trail of Tears and told this to me as I was a child listening with sears tuned to the stories. My great grandmother on the other hand as born in 1857 just before Lincoln was elected to his first term. She grew up during our Civil War. Think of the stories she could tell and what portion of the world’s history she lived through. I listened to her also as she lived to age 90 and I was a 9 year old boy who was curious.

People are always saying to me that I should “write it down” so that there is a written and somewhat organized record. So snow it is done. I hope it satisfies a need. And in this case there are pictures to prove that we were there. Sometimes I can’t believe it myself! Looking back over the last 50 to 60 years I also see a lot of changes. Looking back over my lifetime’ I experienced a world war and several major skirmishes by the US and frequently wonder how the subsequent years will be handled. We did all the previous stressful conflicts with new inventions and high technology so I guess that we can do it, whatever it is. We all wonder how society can handle it but I am an optimist and feel that we can at least “muddle” through. I think that we will do much better than muddle through. We are innovators and will show the rest of the world how it can be done. And we must not fret so much and have faith in our fellow-travelers. Lets get on with it.

A final note to all who read this. Remember that all that is and has been accomplished in your life is not all because of your effort and decision-making. Many have gone before and your life is the sum of all the efforts not just yours. As an example my great aunts including Cecyl worked and picked strawberries when young to make money to send to their brother so that he could attend college for a period of time. They made 2 cents per quart at the time. Others worked at various jobs so that we could eat and wear clothes with no input from us, We didn’t do it ourselves alone, we had help and for that we should be thankful. People have cared for us and still do so. That’s it. Enough said.